It is said that Antares was created years ago by four great dragons fighting within the sky. What this fight was about no one knew for certain. Perhaps, these dragons were just warriors and had to engage in battle from time to time. Whatever the reason behind their fighting, the world of Antares sprung up from it. The four dragons paused their battle to look at the world they had just created and marvel at it. They each decided that they world grant this new world an unique gift. Aelos the dragon of earth gave this world mountains, trees and plants. Valeira dragon of air gave this world breathable air, wind, and clouds. Develan dragon of water gave this world streams, rivers and oceans. Kelorri dragon of fire gave this world their suns and fire.

Each of the dragons granted this world with gift of their elements until this world became suitable for life, and each of the dragons created a species to live there. Aelos created the race of man. Valeira created the faeries. Develan created mermaids and Kelorri created witches. Other races have emerged from these fours. These other races came from breeding between the four, but in the beginning it was just those four. They knew there were value within these creations, but were uncertain how to rule or guide these creations. So, they sought guidance from the wisest and most powerful of their kind. They went to Syri and Isairil. The Queen and King of all dragons.

They were told that fate would decide what would befall their new creation and they should leave it as such. So, they placed their creation upon the world and return to the sky, but not without leaving their creations one last gift. This gift was the creation of their priest and priestess. They knew that their people would need guidance, and thus they created a priest and priestess for each of the great dragons. These priest and priestess communicated to the world the desire and will of the great dragons. Mostly, the high priestess did this. She communicated with the dragons through the dragonlings--a smaller versions of the great beast that dwelled within the heavens. Dragonlings grew no bigger than a large dog while dragons could grow many sizes larger than that.

Each high priestess upon birth receive a dragonling the color of the dragon they will serve. This dragonling is born the same time as the high priestess, grows with her and eventually dies with her. These dragonlings serve as a link between the people of Antares and the great dragons within the sky. The high priestess are the only ones whom can speak the language of the dragons. To the others within the world, this language sounds nothing more like growls and roars. Well, to the majority of them. The high priests claimed that it sounded like a language to them. They could recognize separate words and what not, but this language was still gibberish to their mind. Some believe that if they took the time they could learn this language, but none had actually made the effort to do so.

This was okay. The high priest did not need to speak the language of the dragons in order to do their duties. They were created to be the high priestess protector and granted the gifts of the dragons in order to keep their high priestess safe. There are stories that the high priests could take the form of a dragon, but whether there is truth behind these stories or just the work of overactive imagination is unknown as no high priest have displayed this ability for many centuries. The world have grown and changed over the years. Nations rose and fell. Kings, queens, emperor, and leaders of various makes and creed ruled these nations, but the high priestess always had the final say--as she spoke the will of the great dragon a particular nation was aligned to itself.

No one knows how long the reign of a high priest and priestess will last. It could be just days or centuries upon centuries, but the birth of a new high priestess marks the end of the reign of the currant one. Majority of the currant high priestess accepted what was to come. They embraced the fact that their reign was coming to an end and take it upon themselves to train their successor, and teach her what her duties entails as any other information that will help them with their duties--for examples the politics of the countries they would serve their dragon in. Than upon their eighteenth birthday, the high priestess in training will take the mantle from her predecessor--if she was still alive, and the previous one would continued to be revered, but she would not hold the power she once had.

It should be said that none of the high priestess had a problem with this until Elissandra. She enjoyed greatly the power and privileged the position of high priestess granted her. More than that she was an extremely vain woman, whom believed that the only thing that made a person worthy was their looks and power, and took great pride in the fact that she was considered the most beautiful woman of the ages as well as being the most before woman within the human kingdom of Lyvanna. However, her beauty begun to fade until the only thing that she had left was the memory that she was once the most beautiful woman of the ages and her position of high priestess than her successor was born, and within that moment she lost half of everything she had.

As this child grew the remnants of what she once had possessed were torn from her. People begun to talk about how Dilana--her successor was going to be even more beautiful than Elissandra. It was this that fueled Elissandra's decision to kill her successor, and ensure that she keeps the position of high priestess for herself. However, evidence that she was going to walk down this path could have been spotted long before Dilana's birth. In fact, some might argue that there are those that had spotted it--in particular Kieran, whom was Queen of the witches and high priestess of Kelorri. She had a child with Cyrren, king of Lyvanna, and upon giving birth to her son she knew what his destiny was going to be. Dessan was going to be high priest to Aelos--the dragon that the kingdom of Lyvanna was connected to.

It was common practice for the succeeding high priest to be sent to his predecessor once he is weaned off his mother's milk. Here he will receive from his predecessor the same lessons that the high priestess will receive from hers. Lessons on what his duties entails as well as the history of the kingdom the dragon they serve is align to, and the politics and laws behind that kingdom. The high priest, also, teaches his successor how to use the abilities the great dragon he will serve. He teaches him how to fight. Dessan's mother decided that he was going to receive all these lessons from Nehel--her high priest. It was a decision that spark outrage, but none made any effort to force her to change her mind. One Kieran was not a woman to be crossed. She was queen of the witches, and witches were such a people that you did not wish to make enemies of the ones whom holds the title of queen or king.

The other reason was while frowned upon it wasn't actually forbidden to have the high priest of one dragon train the future high priest of another dragon. It wasn't until he was older that Dessan realized that his mother had made the right decision in having Nehel teach him instead of sending him to Loir to be trained. His predecessor would have ensured that he wasn't properly trained. Whether this would be done because he knew his high priestess would eventually try to kill her own successor or a silent protest against the end of their reign is unknown. It was, however, from Nehel that Dessan learned everything he needed to known about being a high priest. It was through him that he learned how to fight--a style of fighting that he realized that he was much more suited for than the one Loir uses.

It was through Nehel that he learned about the politics of Lyvanna as well as its history. He learned from Nehel while he and the country he was going to call home someday had the same name. He learned the reason for this was that a long time ago the land that would become known as Lyvanna was broken into warring city-state vying for dominance over the land. The warlord of one of these city-states had a son named Lanim that was everything that his father didn't want in a son yet alone an heir, and as such he disowned Lanim and named his younger brother as his heir. Lanim's father banished him from his city-state but not before presenting him with a list of names. He was suppose to pick from this list so that if he actually did manage to actually achieve something of worth his father would have the honor of being able to claim that he was the one that sired him.

Lanim denied his father that right by choosing a name not upon the list presented to him. This outraged his father, and he demanded to know why. Lanim was more than happy to grant his father an answer to this. Now, this was Nehel favorite part of the story to tell. It might have been because the name Lamin picked--Lyvanna--played homage to his own heirtage, half at least. It have been that Nehel found great amusement in the reason behind why Lanim picked that name. He took what was meant to be an insult from his father, and made it into a badge of honor than later he used that badge to create the kingdom of Lyvanna itself. Lyvanna was the phoenix word for butterfly, and Lanim's father was the one to call him a butterfly in the first place. Lanim reminded his father of this fact before leaving the city.

He traveled the land for some time before finding the spot where he would build Lyvanna city. Custom at the time said that cities took the family name of the warlord that built them. This city was impressive. It didn't just have a wall to protect the city itself, but another to protect the farmland that would supply food for the resident of the city. The city itself was built like a labyrinth. The streets narrow, and beneath the city a series of tunnels that extended well behind the cities reach. Once the city was completed, he invited every warlord within the land to come see it. They accepted this invitation. Some curious. Others believing they could knock him down before he even got started.

No one knows for certain how many warlords entered the city, but when he emerged from the city the very next day only thirteen joined him. These thirteen had bent their knees to him, and proclaimed him king. In return, he spared their lives and gave them the honor of being the thirteen noble family that will make up the high council that will help rule Lyvanna throughout the years. Growing up, Dessan didn't understand why Nehel repeated this story. He understood that knowing his country heritage was important. He just didn't think it needed repeating as many times Nehel thought it did. Some part of him believed it was because Lanim was one of Nehel's favorite heroes. While Nehel didn't deny this fact, he claimed that reason he told this story as often as he did wasn't because of his fondness for the hero of the tale.

He told Dessan this story over and over again to make him understand the start of the nation whom he would be high priest to. The people were proud of this heritage. The noble families that make up the high council keep the surnames of the thirteen warlords that bent their knees to Lanim even when tradition dictate they should take another. More than that this story involved one of his ancestors. He was a direct descendant of Lanim. His father the king of Lyvanna, and it was through him that his connection to the very first king was secured. Dessan thought that Nehel was lying. He didn't think that this lie was done out of malice, but merely his way of comforting a child whom was afraid of leaving his home for a foreign and strange land.

Dessan loved his life among the witches. He loved the country. He loved their traditions. He loved the people. More than that he loved his mother. There was no question the love he felt for his mother. He was what many would describe as a mama's boy. He was often found by her side--eager to help her with whatever task she had decided to pursue. However, the time came when he was to leave the witches for the humans. They traveled from the witches' capitol city to the human's. Dessan was not happy about this journey. He had thought that his mother would have found a way to keep him from leaving the home he loved so much.

The fact that she didn't convinced Dessan that his mother didn't love him, and this thought lead him to say cruel things to his mother on the journey when he did speak to her. His mother endured these insults in silence for most of the journey, but she eventually took all the insult she could from Dessan. They were just outside the gates of Lyvanna city when she finally had enough. She turned to Dessan and told him that she had something for him. He asked her if that gift was a knife that she planned on using to further her point that he no longer had her love or was being stabbed in the back too good for trash. As soon as those words left his lips, his mother slapped him. A look of disbelief crossed his face as his hand went towards the spot she had just struck him.

The look upon his mother's face mirrored his own, and than she uttered two words that was just as shocking as the slap itself. Those words were I'm sorry. His mother was not the type to apologize for anything. She was a witch, and witches did not offer apologies for anything. They saw such an action as admitting that one made a mistake, and such admittance was seen as a weakness. The witches were a race of people that did everything within their power to keep their weaknesses hidden from other. They were people whom would exploit these weaknesses if given half a chance, and when people ask Dessan what witches do to the weak he will often tell them they devour the weak the same way a pack of hungry dogs will devour a slab of meat tossed their way.

His mother went on to tell him that she loved him, but that mouth of his was going to get him into serious trouble. He might be high priest of Aelos, but he had the tongue of Kelorri. He started to protest, but his mother silenced him by turning towards the country side and simply proclaiming that it was beautiful. He didn't know what his mother was referring to at first, but than he looked towards the countryside of Lyvanna and, as much as he wished to deny her words, he couldn't deny the truth behind her words. It was indeed beautiful. His mother than went on to tell him the story of how he first saw those hills. He was merely a boy of three, and it was springtime. Those hills were covered in a blanket of wildflowers, and he was insisted that he brought every flower to her.

It was an impossible task, but one he was determined to complete and when she asked him why he respond with a simple because I love you that much. She turned to him and told him the numbers of flowers in the field at that time or the numbers of stars into the sky combined doesn't even come close to how much she loved him. Dessan was her son, and if her words weren't enough proof of her love than perhaps her gift would be. She than went to a chest and pulled from it an item wrapped in red cloth. She didn't need to tell him to unwrap the cloth from the item. He did so immediately, and within that moment he revealed the truth behind his mother words and just how deep her love for him went. It, also, brought with him guilt for his treatment of his mother during the journey.

What his mother had given him was her sword. It had belonged to her family for countless generations, and was usually given to the heir. Being the high priest of Aelos, Dessan could not be his mother heir, but his mother gave him that sword as her way of telling him that she would always love him and that his destiny as Aelos' high priest did change the fact that she viewed him as her son. It might have, also, been her way of telling him that if fate had picked differently she would have named him her heir. They embraced before he turned and embraced his destiny as the high priest of Aelos.

He learned that Nehel had spoken the truth about his connection to Lanim soon after he arrived within Lyvanna. First, the king admitted that Dessan was one of his bastards. It might have been because there was great honor behind being the father of a high priest or high priestess. More than likely, it was because he feared Dessan's mother wrath if he tried to deny his relationship to her son like he had so many others. The other reason he came to believe Nehel had spoken the truth was his uncanny resemblance to the very first king. There were portraits of the man all over the city, and Dessan looked like him. It wasn't until he was older that it became known just how much he resembled the man. He looked just like him. A fact that lead many to believe that he was Lanim reborn.

When Dessan first arrived those whom didn't know whom he was would often refer to him as halfling--an extremely derogatory term that humans used to those whom they believed were half faerie and half human. Dessan's appearance at the time made people believe that he was one such child. This greatly offended him. It wasn't because he shared their hatred for the fae. Witches had a rather friendly relationship with the fae, and this allowed him to see them in a different light than humans did. He hated this term because calling him a halfling was denying his witch heritage, and he was proud of that heirtage. More than that it denied him the mother he loved so much.

In spite this, Dessan came to love Lyvanna greatly. He grow extremely fond of the people and its cultural, but he often compare his father's people with that of his mother's. This isn't done out of malice or hate, but to remind himself the difference between humans and witches. He uses this to keep himself from expecting what is impossible for humans to give, and help him remember his duty as Aelos' high priest. He had accepted his destiny by the time his high priestess came into his life. Dilana was an adorable child. Mischievous with an overactive imagination. She came up with many stories. Most of which, involved Dessan in some manner. These stories often painted him as either the son of Kelorri or the incarnation of Kelorri himself, and any attempt to tell her otherwise was met with her telling him that he was silly.

He came to love her greatly, and when Elissandra and Loir decided to kill her, Dessan came to her rescue not only because it was his duty as her high priest but, also, because he wished to protect someone he loved from such a horrid fate. He killed both Elissandra and Loir, but not before Elissandra pleaded with him to spare her life after she witness him defeat her high priest. She had loathed Loir for his homely appearance. She had always longed for a high priest that was more pleasant to look at, and Dessan fit the bill. More than that she saw within Dessan potential for great power. She believed the two of them would make an unbreakable team. She had heard rumors that Dessan had tapped into abilities that have been lost to high priest for centuries--including the ability to take dragon form. The fact he managed to kill her priest confirmed there might be some truth behind those rumors.

Through, it was more likely these pleas were a scared woman's desperate attempt to stay alive. Whatever her reason, her attempt to convince him to turn upon Dilana fell upon deaf ears. He killed her and when the castle guards rushed into the room minutes later he admitted to the crime. This news sent the entire kingdom into an outrage. The murder of a high priestess was the most grievous crime, and one that usually warrants the immediate execution of the one whom committed the act. However, Dessan was a high priest and only committed the crime in order to protect his high priestess from being killed. People didn't know if killing him would doom Dilana to the same fate, and this would leave them without a high priestess to guide them.

There were those that were afraid if they sentence Dessan to death that they would call Aelos' wrath down upon them, and that in his anger he would turn his back upon them. There were many stories of countries whom the dragons turned their backs upon. Their fate was never a pretty one. However, there were those that argued that his status shouldn't play a role in his determining what should be done. He should be executed just like anyone else whom have committed this crime. The courtroom that Dessan's trial was being held within exploded with people shouting their opinions on this matter, and might have turned to physical blows if it wasn't for a voice bellowing enough. Everyone within that room knew that voice. It was the voice of Aelos himself, but many were shocked to discover they could understand what that voice was saying.

However, the most shocking revelation came when they turned towards the direction of that voice. They expected to find the words coming from Dilana's dragonling, but it had not. Those words came directly from Dilana's lip, whose eyes have taken the shape of a dragon. Aelos than proceeded to tell them that Dessan was merely acting in accordance to his duty and that if Elissandra had succeeded with her plan that they would have been left without a high priestess. Dessan had ensured that they didn't suffer such a fate. More than that he reminded them of the crime that Elissandra had committed in her attempt to kill Dilana. In that one moment, she had thought herself above the will of the dragons.

It was for these reasons that Dessan's life should be spared. Dessan's father immediately moved to obey Aelos' order, whom have left Dilana by this time. He freed Dessan from his shackles. Soon as Dessan found himself free, his father, Dilana and he was called to a meeting with his mother. It was within this meeting that they were told an ancient evil have awoken. Beings called the wraith, whom wished to erase creation itself and force everything to return to the empty void before the beginning of creation. His mother explained the wraith have been sealed away behind a door, and that the locks keeping the door shut have been unlocked but whomever is helping the wraith have to travel to the door to open it. Kelorri told her that someone needs to reach the door before the wraith's allies did, and prevent them from breaking the last seal.

Dessan's father asked where that door was, and it was within that moment Mahari-the faerie king-- revealed that he had decided to drop into the meeting. He told them the door was located it Valikov. His presence there didn't settle well with many of the humans whom have decided to invite themselves to the meeting, but Mahari quickly silenced their protest by telling them that the wraith awakening was a threat to the entire world not just humans. Dessan than went on to explain the history behind Valikov. It was a long forgotten city-state of Isavor, whom commended themselves to having the dragons turn their backs upon them because they had thought to seize power over life and death. Powers that are only for the dragons to grant.

They used this power to keep their living from dying, and to rise the dead from the grave. It is said that the dead still wander the city-state, rumors that Dessan would discover was very true. After Dessan finished telling the story of Valikov the entire room was silent, but that silence was eventually broken by Dilana whom declared they must go there. At first, Dessan attempted to deny her request. She was just a child and he did not wish to put her into harm way, but she was insistent and he eventually gave in. However, he made it clear that he would not depart upon this dangerous mission before her coronation. The people of Lyvanna needed a high priestess and without the coronation they would feel as if they don't have one. It was agreed, they would embark upon their journey to Valikov after Dilana's coronation.

The journey to Valikov was a long and trying one. It caused them to face many challenges, people and places whom they have all but forgotten, but eventually they reached the city-state. Through, once they had entered the lands that once belonged to to the nation of Isavor they found themselves transported to a different world. Dessan had heard stories of what Isavor had been like before its fall, and shared this story with those whom wished to listen. There were paved roads, buildings that rose high into the sky, metal carriages that was said to take people from one city-state within Isavor to another. Time might have degraded these things, but Dessan can still see the wonder that this society had created.

They discovered many secrets here, and many more when they finally reached Valikov. The rumors that the dead roamed the street proved to be very true, but what was more astonishing was there were living beings there--if you could call them all that. Some were Valikovian, whom had decided to cheat death by turning themselves into vampires. They had every intent of turning Dessan and his group into food or changing them. This was, however, a decision that only their queen can make. It was here that they learned their queen had once been a high priestess of Aelos. Upon seeing Dessan and Dilana she saw this as a chance for revenge. She decided that she would change them, and take another priest and priestess away from Aelos.

However, Dilana changed her mind. She didn't do so through any clever words or argument. She merely did so by acting herself. The vampire queen was reminded of her own daughter when observing Dilana. A little girl whom had been the apple of her eyes. She was so filled with life, wonder and awe of the world. She was a mischievous little thing, eager for adventure, but than the plague took her. The vampire queen explained that a great plague swept across the land, and took many children. There is nothing worse than the lose of a child, and she hoped---no prayed--they never have to endure that pain. She wanted her beloved little girl back. More than that she wished to ensure that no one ever felt that grief. So, she decided to gain control over life and death itself.

She should have known that she have chosen the wrong path when her dragonling had stopped talking to her. She looked in both amusement and longing at the two dragonlings that had traveled with the group. Dilana's green one, and Dessan's purple one. Through, Dessan did not claim his dragonling in the same manner that Dilana did hers. Only a high priestess can claim true ownership over a dragonling, but there are many more dragonlings than high priestess. They can be found all over the places and sometimes they decide to make their home instead people homes. It is considered a great honor for a dragonling to decide to live inside your home. Sometimes these dragonlings become those roommates you only see every so often. Other times--like in the case of Dessan--those dragonlings become a constant companion eager to follow you on whatever adventure you decide to embark upon.

After getting lost within her thought for a few moments, the vampire queen resumed speaking. She did not wish to cause that grief she had felt within another parent either by changing Dilana into a vampire or preventing them from keeping the wraith from entering the world. She than told Dessan that there was one among them that was an ally of the wraith. She did not know which one. She did not have that foresight, but she told him to be careful and trust no one beside his high priestess and Mahari. She than granted them with gifts to help them on the rest of their journey and than pointed them in the direction of the door. They discovered living people within the city--including a little girl around Dilana's age, whom they decided to take with them.

Finally they reached the door and the snake among their mist revealed itself. The wraith ally turned out to be a woman named Alaine. Hardship of her life had made her hate the dragons, and she believed the world would be better without them. She saw the wraith as a way of ensuring that the dragons are no more. Alaine had gotten into the group because of her great mind. She was a brilliant scholar, whom could translate and read many different language and thought that she could use these skills to aid the group---especially when they travel into places that the world have not seen for many centuries. She had been correct. Her skills benefited the group many times on the journey.

However, she had not expected to come to care for those whom she traveled with, but that what she did. She came to care for them. More than that she had fallen in love with Dessan. This revelation shook her to her very core. She didn't see herself as the type to ever fall in love, but more than that she did not imagine that the man whom would have stolen her heart would be a priest of the dragons she hate so much. Yet, that was exactly what she had done. She knew they could never be together. The wraith have changed her--striped her of her humanity and now there was only a shiver lift. It was within that moment that a wraith revealed itself. This wraith had once been her twin brother. She had watched him change, watch his humanity be striped from him.

The wraith reminded her of the promise she made, and told her to help him complete their goal. Alaine smiled at the creature, told it that some promises had to be broken than grabbed a hold of it and flung both of them into the door. A massive explosion followed suit, leveling miles of the area around them, but by some miracle Dessan's group were unharmed. They returned home and back to their lives. Many people call Dessan a hero for what he had done, but in his mind the real hero is Alaine--a woman whom used the last remnants of her humanity to save the world.

Present

Ten years have passed since Dessan have returned from Valikov, and he has watched Dilana grow from that mischievous little girl to a beautiful woman. She wasn't just beautiful in appearance, but in spirit and soul. She has a heart of gold, and often uses that heart in her decision making. While this annoys him sometimes, Dessan, also, loves this about her. He know the hardship that she had endured as a young child. Hardships that would have rightfully turned anyone's heart into stone, but she had managed to keep the same love and wonder for the world she had as a child into her adulthood. She still have an overactive imagination and he is still the hero of many of her tales, but he gets the feeling that she enjoys telling these stories because she loves teasing him.

The little girl they had found within Valikov have came to live witin Lyvanna She seems not to remember her life within the city-state. Whether she actually doesn't remember or merely doesn't wish to talk about it Dessan doesn't know, but he doesn't push her to talk about it. He has grown fond of her, as well. Like Dilana, he has watched her grow from child into a beautiful woman. He had learned new skills and embraced his duty as high priest. He still has his purple dragonling, whom is not as small as she once was. The dragonling is now the size of a large dog, but still insist on following him everywhere he goes. In fact, time have made her more insistence on this. Where he goes his dragonling Valeira is not far behind.

He calls her such because Dilana insists that she is Valeira determined to stay beside her beloved side. He have come to understand Valeira when she speak. He still cannot speak the dragon tongue like Dilana can, but he can understand enough to get a general sense of what Valeira is trying to say to him, or perhaps the two have bonded in such a way they can communicate without words. Life is good, but there is something within the air. A plague have been spreading across the land, and Dessan cannot help thinking that this plague is more than a disease. There is something unnatural about it. He has a feeling that Dilana and he will be called to not just save the world, but the universe. Something tells him this plague has reached other worlds beside his own. Through, it might affect these worlds differently than his.

(Note: I only listed the children that Dessan's father had with his wife. Cyrren has many children with various lovers across Antares. I will list those children below as soon as Dessan discover them or if I just randomly decide to give names to these other children.)

High Priestess: Dilana Sorosky

Mistress-to-be: Meira Kinley (Many believe Meira will someday become Dessan's mistress. Regardless if this is true or not, Dessan is rather fond of her and is nearly as protective of her as he is of Dilana)